Slicing machine



Dec. 29, 1936. J. FOLK 2,065,572

SLICING MACHINEl Filed April 9, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ml 2. 3 6 Ov H f Y l//.2

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am ATT'Ys.

Dec. 29, 1936. 1 FOLK 2,065,572

SLICING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1954 2 sneetssheet 2 Y ,W73 l l: ill" l INVENTORI JOSEPH FOLK BY @7U MATHS.

Patented Dec. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES CFFICE SLICING MACHINE corporation of Indiana Application April 9, 1934, Serial No. 719,692

3 Claims.

This invention relates to slicing machines, and particularly to that kind of slicing machine in which the substance is mounted on a carriage which is moved manually relative to a slicing knife so that successive slices may be cut therefrom.

This application contains subject matter divided out` of Joseph Folk applications Serial No. 633,594, filed September 17, 1932, and Serial No. 637,756, filed October 14, 1932.

Figs. 1 and 2A of the present application are Figs. 4 and 5 respectively of application Serial No. 633,594, filed September 17, 1932. Figs. 3 and 4 of the present application are Figs. 8 and 9 respectively of application Serial No. 637,756 filed October 14, 1932.

One object of the present invention resides in the provision of a guard plate for the knife for preventing the substance from rubbing against the knife, and in providing the guard plate with a suitable abutment substantially centrally of the knife for preventing movement of the guard plate out of its intended position. The guard plate also preferably has the forward edge thereof (that which is rst engaged by the substance) rounded slightly in a direction toward the knife itself so that the substance will be guided freely against the flat side of the guard plate.

Another object of the invention relates to a novel arrangement for the guard plate which guards the face of the knife adjacent the substance carriage. In carrying out this part of the invention there is provided a guard plate which can be quickly moved to a position away from the knife and cleaned while in said latter position.

Still afurther object of the invention is to provide an abutment or central support for the knife guard tov prevent bending or springing of the guard by the substance as the substance is being moved across the face of the guard plate.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a pivotally mounted guard plate adjacent the face of a knife, there being means cooper- 45` ating with the plate to support the plate Substantially in the center thereof.

Numerous other objects and advantages will be apparent throughout the progress of the following specification.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a selected embodiment of the invention, and the views therein are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a detail elevational view, partly in section, of a slicing machine showing the ar- (Cl. 14S-JOB) rangement of the gauge plate, guard plate and slicing knife.

Fig. 2 is a detail sectionalview taken substantially along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional View 5 through a slicing machine knife and showing the knife guard as being pivotally mounted.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken substantially along the line ll-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly 10 Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, 2@ designates the base of a slicing machine, there being a suitable motor (not shown) or the like, for driving a slicing machine knife. At one side of the base, at 2l, Fig. 2, there is provided a knife supporting 15 bracket upon which the knife 22 is rotatably mounted. This mounting for the knife is best illustrated in Fig. 2 in which the numeral 23 represents the knife supporting shaft, the numeral 2d a pulley driven by a belt 25 from the 20 motor, and in which the numeral 2t indicates a clamping nut in the form of a headed screw pro-- vided with openings 2l for the reception of a suitable tool for threading the screw into the shaft 23. The knife itself is centered upon a hub 25 portion 28 formed on the pulley 24 and is clamped between the nut 2% and the body of the pulley 24. A slice deflector 29 extends from a position close to the cutting edge of the knife to a position remote therefrom and acts as a 30 means for directing the slice away from the knife after the slice has been formed. The construction of this deiiector .'29 is not material to the present invention but is claimed in another application assigned tothe same party in interest.

The knife is provided with a curved guard 32, Fig. l, whichl enoloses the upper and rear portion of the knife.

A guard plate 33 has the lugs 34 thereof se- 40 cured by pins 35 or the like to the guard 32 whereby the' guard 32 and plate 33 move in unison with each other. The guard 32 is provided with a notch 36, Fig. 1, and the guard plate has a downwardly extending finger 31 45 provided with a notch 33. As Clearly shown in Figure l, a pin 39 is secured to the knife supporting bracket 2l. Also, a screw el! is secured to one side of the base, Fig. 1. The screw 40 and the pin 3s are adapted to be received within 50 the notches 35 and 36 respectively when the guard and guard plate are in operative position. The guard 32 is provided at its upper portion with a laterally extending screw 4l, and this screw is received within a notch 42 in a bracket 55 alsV 43, the bracket 43 being secured to the upper surface of the knife supporting bracket 2i. The screw 4I may be provided with a thumb nut (not shown) which draws the guard? firmly against the bracket 43. The thumb nut (not shown) and the manner in which the bracket 43 is fastened is clearly shown in the aforesaid copending application Serial No. 633,594.

The nut 26 is provided with an anti-friction ball 41 which is pressed into a suitable recess' in the nut to hold the ball in place, Fig. 2. 'I'his ball contacts with the central portion of the guard plate 33 and prevents the central portion of the guard from being flexed away from the substance when the substance is rubbing thereagainst. At the same time, this antifriction contact between the ball 41 and the guard plate 33 does not interfere with the rotative movement of the knife.

The thickness of a slice to be cut from the substance is regulated by means of a gauge plate 48. The position, location and purpose of the gauge plate is set forth in the aforesaid copending application Serial No. 633,594.

The forward edge of the guard plate is rounded as indicated at 49, Fig. 2, so that the side of the substance, after it passes the cutting edge of the knife, does not have a sharp abutment against which it must move before it passes into engagement with the broad surface of the guard plate. This prevents the forward edge of the guard plate from tearing portions of the substance therefrom and forming scraps, as happens with the usual type of guard plate in which the forward edge thereof is not rounded.

In actual tests on a machine embodying the aforesaid characteristics it has been found that practically no scraps are formed and that bleed of the substance is minimized. One reason for this is the narrow face 50 of the knife directly behind the cutting edge thereof. This face is approximately not over 1/2 inch in width. Another reason for this is that the guard plate is both close to the peripheral edge of the knife and prevents the substance from rubbing on the face 50 thereof. A still further reason for this highly desirable result is the sloping of the face 50 away from the edge in a direction slightly away from a plane parallel to the direction of movement of the substance carriage. Ordinarily with a spring feed, the substance is caused to rub against the edge ofthe knife, and this rubbing results in larding of the knife. In the present machine, however, this larding is prevented due to the fact that there is a very small space between the peripheral edge of the knife and the guard plate which form points of contact for the substance which substantially prevent the intermediate portion of the substance from engaging the knife and thereby causing larding thereof. The narrow edge4 50 of the knife, its operation and purpose, is also disclosed in applicants aforesaid application Serial No. 633,594, but is claimed in applicants copending application Serial No. 637, filed January 7, 1935. Y

In Figs. 3 and 4 there is disclosed a different type of knife guard but the same type of central support is shown. In these latter figures there is disclosed a guard plate 64 having ribs 65 thereon. 'Ihe substance engaging portion of the guard plate includes the surfaces of the ribs which are arranged substantially in the cutting plane of the knife when the guard plate is n its operative position.

The guard plate 64 has an. enlarged bearing portion 66 thereon at the lower end thereof, Fig. 4, and recesses 61 are provided at the opposite ends of the bearing portion 66 into which adjustable pivots 68 extend. The adjustable pivots 68 are carried by a bracket 69 which is secured by bolts 16 and locating pins ll to a part of the frame 26. Thus the guard plate can be pivoted totally away from the cutting plane of the knife to permit the same to be cleaned or to permit cleaning of the knife.

In order to retain the guard plate in operative position, I provide the bearing 66 with a lug 12 having a cross section substantially that which is shown in Fig. 3, the sides of the lug being substantially at right angles to each other. A pin 13, arranged within a recess 14 within the bracket 69, is spring pressed toward the lug 12 by a spring l5 which holds the guard plate in operative position against a hardened steel ball 16 on the nut 11 which holds the knife on the knife shaft 18. `This same spring 15 yields, when manual pressure is applied to the guard plate, to move it from the full line position to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. In this position, the pin 13 supports the guard plate yieldingly in a substantially horizontal position. As will be seen by an inspection of Fig. 3, the guard plate, when in an inoperative position, such as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, extends into the path of movement of the carriage and prevents the carriage and bearing member from being moved past the knife. This is an advantage for the reason that ordinarily when the carriage is in its inoperative position, portions thereof are in a position to prevent the operator from injury, as he cannot very readily bring his hands into engagement with the slicing knife. The guard plate also is readily held in either operative or inoperative position without the necessity of releasing any clamping means. The steel ball 16 prevents movement of the guard plate away from its operative position when the pressure of the substance thereagainst tends to move the same into the recess 19 of the knife further than is intended. The means for controlling the operation of the carriage when the guard plate is in its dotted position shown in Fig. 3 and the construction and location of the hollow guard 86 is clearly disclosed in applicants copending application Serial No. 637,756.

The invention herein disclosed comprises a. central support for a knife guard plate Whether the guard plate be operatively connected to the knife guard as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or whether the guard plate be pivotally mounted as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts Without sacriiicing any of the advantages thereof, and the right is hereby reserved to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is herebly claimed as follows:

1. A slicing machine comprising a circular knife having one face thereof recessed below the peripheral edge of said knife, a guard plate pivotally mounted on a support adjacent said knife for movement into and out of said recess, an anti-friction ball abutment arranged substantially centrally of said knife for engaging said guard plate when said guard plate is Within said recess, and releasable means for maintaining Said 16 guard plate against said abutment but permitting movement of said guard plate to an inoperative position if and when desired and for thereafter releasably holding the guard plate in inoperative position.

2. In a slicing machine, the combination With a frame, of a support mounted for reciprocation on said frame, a knife mounted on said frame adjacent the path of travel of said support and having the side thereof which lies adjacent the path of travel of said support recessed below the plane of the peripheral edge thereof, a hardened steel bearing arranged centrally of said knife and rotatable therewith, a pivot extending substantially parallel to the path of movement of said support, a guard plate mounted on said pivot for movement into said recessed side of said knife and to a position substantially perpendicularly to the cutting plane of said knife across the path of movement of said support, an anti-frictional ball abutment on said guard plate adjacent said pivot, and a yielding detent acting on said abutment to hold said abutment against said hard ened steel bearing when said guard plate is Within said recessed side of said knife but being inoperative to move said guard plate toward said knife when said guard plate is moved to an inoperative position extending substantially perpendicularly to said cutting plane.

3. A slicing machine comprising a slicing knife mounted for movement approximately in a vertical plane, a support for said knife including a pulley, a shaft, and a clamping member for clamping the knife to the pulley, said pulley being mounted on the shaft, a guard plate arranged with the substance engaging portion thereof substantially in the cutting plane of said knife, means for securing said guard to said support, and an anti-friction ball mounted in the clamping member and projecting therefrom and engaging the rear face of said guard plate a substantial distance from the peripheral edge thereof for preventing flexing of said guard plate out of its operative position.

JOSEPH FOLKa 

